


Hollow

by maigomori



Category: A Way Out (Video Game)
Genre: Alternative Timeline, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Casual Sex, Game ending spoilers, Humor, Kissing, M/M, Slow Build, Switching, casual bisexual agenda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-05-28 06:07:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15042425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maigomori/pseuds/maigomori
Summary: Problems arise and Vincent never makes it to the sting operation with his brother. Harvey still gets away, but Leo manages to not get caught, never spending those 6 months in jail. Vincent and Leo paths had not yet crossed (alternate timeline).Fast forward a few months, Vincent is coming to terms with a loss and a rage he can't let go, and Leo is still dodging Harvey's hitmen with vengeance burning at the back of his mind. Maybe their paths were never supposed to cross, maybe this was something unavoidable after all.





	Hollow

"You can't keep blaming yourself, Vincent."

Vincent sat still in his seat, one quiet moment before feeling his body keel over and his face fall into his hands. "I know," is all he could manage to muster.

"What's done is done, we have no choice but to move forward," James, The Chief of Police, remarked remorsefully, "I'm just sorry it had to be at the cost of your brother. The department... it's quiet without him. I am truly, with all my heart, sorry for your loss, Vincent."

"If I had just-- I could have been there... no, I should have been there," Vincent lamented through gritted teeth. "If I had just been there, then it never would have happened." The heavy sinking pit in his stomach returned. He could throw up at any moment.

The black orlov diamond, his brother had mentioned it to him. A little diamond that was no bigger than a stone, but worth way more than they could even imagine in a year's salary. Gary was eager to take on the case, this would be huge for them. For their reputation, but better yet, the possibility of taking a massive hit to a major crime syndicate. It was a national benefit. Vincent and Gary both knew this was going to get messy, but their entire careers were leading up to this moment.

The diamond had been stolen, following with an entire slew of rumors eroding from behind the sudden disappearance. The story was, an apparent ring leader was behind the entire scheme, planning to sell the diamond for large profit. The larger the profit, the more power gained. The police department was riding on the theory that the ring leader was attempting international sale ties to gain larger area in underground gang territory.

It was risky business, and possibly the most dangerous case their police force had ever attempted to take on. And yet, it wasn't before long that Vincent and Gary found themselves already waist deep into the investigation.

There was a guaranteed shot from the files that they had acquired all the information that they would need to seal it for good. Someone knew a guy, a guy knew a guy, that guy knew a guy, et cetera. They hit the jackpot. It was like a domino effect, it had almost all come together too easily.

Gary was on the other party's toes, and Vincent, somehow through passion and adrenaline high, managed to get Gary close enough to where he was the one meeting up with the final man to seal the deal on the diamond. The stolen black orlov would be retrieved, back-up would surround the building, final arrests would be made, it all would finally be over.

The sting was initiated. Neither of the brothers could believe they were going to finish this so cleanly.

Until that morning.

Vincent had been getting ready for work, brushing his teeth. He remembers the morning almost vividly. It was an early morning shift to get to, the sun had only just kissed the horizon at that time. Birds were chirping right outside the window. There was a soft mint taste in his mouth. All these minor details.

"Ohh my god, Vincent," Carol groaned, one hand holding her stomach as she hobbled over to their bedpost to weakly place the grip of her other hand. "Ah, it hurts, it really really hurts."

Vincent rushed to her side, holding her steady, "Is it happening?! Are you going into labor??"

"I, I don't know," Carol stuttered, "It's only been 6 months, this isn't normal right?"

The telephone downstairs began ringing.

"Shit," Vincent cursed, "Carol, sweetheart, just--," the telephone ringing sang throughout the house. "-- Ah, shit! Hang in there, okay? I'll get the car started, then I'll come back upstairs to help you get down. Deep breaths. Only a few minutes, trust me."

After Carol signaled a pained nod while lowering herself back down onto the side of their bed, Vincent shot down the stairs faster than he ever had in his life. He almost doesn't even remember actually running down them. The entire memory is a blur.

"Hello?!" Vincent gasped into the phone, practically ripping it off the wall. He had known the ruse was going down that day, but why? Why did Carol have to have severe contractions that morning? Why did the meet-up have to be scheduled that day? Why did things happen the way that they had?

"Whoa, running late?" Gary chuckled into the phone.

"Gary? Wha-- no, no, I'm not running late. It's Carol," Vincent managed to stammer.

"Is she okay??"

"She's in pain right now, she might be going into labor. We don't know." Words felt like they were flying out a mile a minute.

"Now?? Isn't it still early?"

"That's the issue." It had taken so long for Vincent and Carol to finally get pregnant, but Vincent was beyond excited to have a child. After so long, after all the trial and error, maybe this could be what would reunite he and Carol. Their own little family. He didn't know any better back then. But in that moment, he felt his heart already shattering at the idea of any complications.

"Well, damn," Gary swore softly. There was care and consideration in his voice, he had known how much this meant to Vincent. "Go take care of Carol, okay? I got it covered on my end."

"What? What covered? The case?? I-- can't the guys you're meeting up with postpone it?" His panic had him grasping at straws.

"Vince, don't be ridiculous. The main guy switching up the diamond with me has already been hounding me since past midnight. This has to happen today. Everything's already been coordinated. This is it."

Vincent swiped a hand across his face. "Shit, alright."

"I'm the one dealing the direct contact. Switching you out with another deputy to handle the radio is not a big deal, man. Trust me on this," Gary assured firmly. "It would be great to have you there to see all your hard work pay off, but just know the celebrations will be waiting for you back at the office. This couldn't have happened without you."

"You know I want to be there, Gary," Vincent couldn't hold back a pained tone, despite the rush of his voice.

"I know. Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"If anything goes wrong, call me right away. We'll be at the memorial hospital, east side. If there's any chance I can make it, I will meet you at rendezvous point."

"Roger that!" it was almost like you could see Gary's confident grin on the other side of the phone. "Anything happens with the two of you, you let me know, okay? I'll see you later."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Hours had passed. Carol was finishing with the doctor, getting all checked out. The baby was still growing healthy, and it had just been a false alarm. Some severe contractions, but Carol was doing fine. It was normal, and for the time being Vincent was able to feel a temporary relief. But, it had only been the calm before the actual storm.

A nurse rushed into their room, panic stricken across her face. "Pardon the intrusion, doctor-- Mr. Moretti?" Vincent nodded towards her direction, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "There is an emergency call for you at reception on first floor. The Chief of Police would like to speak with you."

He felt his blood turn cold.

The diamond, still missing.

Gary had been killed. One shot to the head, quick and clean. He was gone.

If only he had been there that day. Would things be different?

"You don't know if it wouldn't have happened, if it would have happened... We've gone over this for the last 2 months, Vincent. Please stop this," James sighed, pushing himself away from his desk. "I know you didn't come into my office on your day off just to keep me company and beat yourself up over this. You're hurting, we all are. But would you tell me what's really on your mind?"

"Harvey."

James raised an eyebrow in return, a moment of disgruntled surprise catching him. "Excuse me?"

"I want to be the one to take the case directly this time. I find Harvey and I finish this for good."

Raising a hand up to rub his temples, James frowned heavily. "We have absolutely no leads right now. The kingpin missing, even along with his delivery boy-- we don't even know who that guy is! Absolutely nothing!" he emphasized. "What in the world could you possibly have on this, Moretti?"

Vincent remained unmoving. He was already numb to any doubts, the only thing he felt was a quiet rage darkening in his blood.

"Aren't you getting a little too close to this?" James pressed again. "If you're able to find another way to the diamond, by all means. Send me a report. But from what's already taken place, you're coming at this from the wrong side. This isn't a revenge game, you know this. You're doing authority's work."

"I know what I'm doing," Vincent replied sternly, fists tightening. "I know my way around, I will find the leads just like last time. This time is no different. I know I can take him out. I just need you to give me the 'go' so I can carry it out, sir."

"If it's 'no different', then absolutely not," James shut the case binder in front of him. "We can't afford to lose another high ranking officer."

"It's my fault Gary died, I was the one who put him in that situation. I--"

"We are not making the same mistakes again."

"No, but, I--"

"Listen to me. When we get more incident reports, more evidence, an executive order will be decided on what the department should do collectively. Until then, you have to wait this out. I'm sorry."

There really was nothing left for Vincent to argue. James was right, there wasn't anymore leads. Vincent knew he had been bluffing his confidence, too. He had no idea who to talk to at this point. Harvey's location was an absolute mystery. How did they manage to have him so close in sight, but lose any trace of him so fast? Even so, Vincent was aware deep down that the longer he waited, that was like placing a gift right into Harvey's lap. The more time lost, the more ground he covered.

It was all going to shit.

After a long pause, Vincent got out of his seat without a word and began making his way out the office, door handle in hand.

"Vincent," the chief called out to him one final time.

He turned, trying to hide the defeat writing itself across his face.

"I, uh, know things are not great back at home for you right now either," James clarified awkwardly, clearing his throat, "I really am worried about you. I have seen you falling apart the past year. Please... ah, just don't do anything I wouldn't do. Take it easy."

He had no options, what could he really do at this point?

Click.

Vincent shut the door and slowly made his way down the hallways, out the building. The night of the workday had already fallen, and it felt like the only thing he could be thankful for was the moon's company. He met up with his car, leaned his back against the driver side door, and attempted to weigh out his options for the rest of the night.

Head to a bar...? He never really went to bars to begin with, especially after taking his job. It just never felt like there was a good time. But considering all the current circumstances, a drink did sound welcoming. It was either that, or return to the motel that he had been staying at for the past week.

Gary's death was already one heavy burden weighing down on his heart, but it was the divorce with Carol that was another dagger in his chest he wish he could just pull out.

The divorce was still underway, and if he could, Vincent knew he would hand the house over to Carol and the baby-on-the-way in a heartbeat. It was a beautiful house, they deserved that much. But, finances were still being sorted out and Carol needed the space to think over everything.

He was aware he had been the one at fault this entire time, he knew he had become an absent figure in her life. He saw himself walking away from her, getting so wrapped up in the Harvey situation, case after case, and yet he never took a step back. Despite Carol's pleas, the arguments, Vincent refused to ever look back at the mess he was leaving behind with her.

It wasn't intentional. He never meant for things to happen this way. It was like a rainstorm looming, wondering when the love had ever died to begin with.

 _"Is this how you want your future child to remember you?"_ Carol sighed. She was hiding a lot more hurt behind her tone than she was letting on. That night, her hair had been messily bunned up, she was sitting in her maternity gown at the kitchen table with slender, delicate fingers wrapped around a small coffee cup. One finger, gently tapping against the mug. Even in memory, Vincent could recall the last argument like it was yesterday. All the small details always coming back to him.

"No... but you have to trust me on this, Carol," Vincent begged, "I can't imagine this lasting longer than the remainder of the year. No longer than that-- we were already so close."

"And what if you get killed?" her face lowered, eyes only meeting the kitchen table. "You're... already never home. You don't know if this will 'only' last the rest of the year or not. What if you're gone for weeks at a time, again? I'm expecting soon."

"Harvey killed my brother, my own flesh and blood," Vincent urged his reasons. His voice was low, a poison began filling out behind his words. "I have to finish this." Those words had become an obsessive death-filled mantra in his head.

His jacket was already on, it was getting late. He knew he was going to have to spend the rest of the night at the office digging through the case files again. Searching for a clue, something, anything.

"You can't bring him back, Vincent," Carol finally shot back. "What battle are you fighting by yourself? Do you really think, murdering this 'Harvey' guy, will that help you sleep at night? Will that take back what's been done?" Her voice was beginning to crack.

Vincent took a step towards her, reaching a hand out to place on her shoulder just before she gently pushed him back.

"Gary. I know from what you've told me that he was the one taking this case more closely than you had," Carol stated quietly. "You... still have a chance to distance yourself from this."

That was like a tear right through Vincent's stomach.

Because, he knew he didn't want to leave it alone. He couldn't. It wasn't just about him, saving himself, leaving this behind. How could it be, when even if Gary had jumped into the fray of it all, Vincent was severely aware that he was the one that set it all up in the first place. Being so close to tasting the finale of this whole ordeal just to have his brother killed, to not be there for him when he took his last breath... Harvey tore into him like prickling thorns, one after the other.

How do you not feel guilty over sending off your brother to his own grave?

Survivor's guilt was eating Vincent alive.

His lungs began to feel heavy, his tongue following with a harsh thickness. "I can't let go, because it's my fault," ran through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

All he could offer in return to Carol was a stone cold stare. Had his eyes always looked this lifeless?

A moment of quiet tension passed between them. They were both broken down. But, Carol was the one to find the strength to break the silence. Tears had already been welling in her eyes, Vincent remembers this clearly.

"Why are we still doing this?"

Vincent's face fell. He knew where this was going already. Time and time again they had been reaching this brink. Trying to get away, trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel between each other, only to pendulum swing right back to where they started.

"I'm doing my best," he whispered, crushed.

"I know."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Carol nodded, hands slipping away from her coffee mug and falling into her lap. Her gaze remained towards the table, neither of them able to find the will to look each other in the eyes. Breaks and pauses continued to fill the atmosphere. "This... is over, isn't it," she managed to say in a small voice. Disappointment crinkled her face, but a surreal calm remained in her tone.

"It doesn't have to be," Vincent attempted to interject, but there was no fighting will left behind it.

"And I don't want it to be, Vincent," Carol bit at her bottom lip, "I never did. But this, this is... it goes beyond this. I know you've been avoiding this topic, you have always tried to avoid this." She attempted to tread her words carefully. "We never see each other... and when we do, we argue. We sleep away from each other. There are those times that you take the couch. Sleeping together... it's not like... it's not important to me. But, that is where this all started. You know this. This has never been just about you joining the police force."

Vincent froze up, once more. He knew.

Their complications with intimacy filled him with a deep shame. He never wanted to talk about it. What it came down to, the issue was, was that Carol was beautiful. A red head with a gentle frame, but a fiery attitude when you got her just right. She was beyond charming, even in her aging years. But despite that, there was something that was lost between them. For some reason or another that he never attempted to delve into, the intimacy just never came easily for him. Or at least at some point in time it had stopped being that way. Vincent chalked it down to not being compatible anymore, and tried to accept it just as that. He didn't want to think any more of it.

Finally managing to have a baby together was supposed to fix this, he had thought at one point.

Maybe this had all been wrong. Maybe it was all wrong. He did love Carol, he knows he did. Through high school, college, joining the police force... she had always been there. Why it had not been working did not make sense to him.

A knot twisted in Vincent's gut.

"What do you mean?" Vincent feigned ignorance.

Their eyes finally met. Carol looked up at Vincent, eyes filled with hurt as her lips pressed into a thin line.

"That's all you have to say?"

Quiet.

Yet again, she was disappointed.

"...How can I expect you to be honest with me, when you can't even be honest with yourself."

Those words echoed deeply in the back of Vincent's head like a migraine's hum. He took a deep breath that felt more like a gasp for air, and managed to take a moment to break away from the memories. Without thinking much of it, he had already driven straight to the nearest bar.

Shifting the clutch into park, Vincent gazed out the car window at the lights dancing off the signs and decorations from the outside. Now was a good of a time as any to give himself a break, he was already here.

Entering the bar, foretold by the vehicles lined outside in the parking lot, there was a hefty amount of patrons already mingling from the inside. There was a gentle haze of smoke in the air, and despite the strong smell, it somehow gave the setting a calm hush against the crowd's volume.

The drink bar itself was near packed. All the stools had almost been occupied, but Vincent managed to find a corner seat tucked away to the side. It was slightly overwhelming, in a way. When was the last time he had gone to a bar, anyway? Let alone, by himself? He couldn't help but laugh bitterly to himself about how vulnerable he wound up feeling.

He shot a hand up, the bartender taking notice and making his way over. "A few drinks, that's it," Vincent promised himself. "Nothing crazy, just enough to forget my nerves. Then, I'll head back to the motel."

Yeah, sure.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I have not written anything in 3 years, so please bear with me. 
> 
> In this timeline, Leo is divorced as well; he will make his entrance in the next chapter. Originally the 1st & 2nd chapters were combined, but it felt way too long and I am still trying to make sure the 2nd chapter's pacing isn't too strange. It will be up soon! I have every intention to finish this entire fic to the end, but I tend to drabble a lot, so please hang in tight. Thank you for reading.


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